The present invention relates to magnetic disk units, and in particular to a magnetic head slider and its suspension structure in a magnetic disk unit of the contact recording type in which a magnetic head slider is brought into contact with a magnetic disk.
In order to increase the recoding density of magnetic disk units, the flying height between a slider for mounting a magnetic head and a magnetic disk hastened to be reduced. As the flying height is reduced, contact between the slider and the magnetic disk is becoming inevitable. Thus, there has been proposed a magnetic disk unit of the so-called contact recording type in which magnetic recording is performed with the slider brought into contact with the magnetic disk from the beginning.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,932, there is disclosed an integral magnetic head/suspension structure formed as a long and slender bent dielectric object or as a suspension having a magnetic head on one end thereof. This integral magnetic head/suspension has a feature of extremely light mass. By reducing the mass of the integral magnetic head/suspension, the load applied to the magnetic disk can be reduced and wear between the magnetic head/slider and the magnetic disk can be reduced.
In a structure proposed in JP-A-6-251528, the flying force generated by the air flow caused by rotating the magnetic disk under the integral magnetic head/suspension assembly is canceled by mounting the suspension section so as to form a suitable angle with respect to the surface of the magnetic disk and thereby causing a compressive force due to air blow to act. In this structure, the contact state is maintained over the entire surface of the magnetic disk.
In a positive pressure slider of flying/contact mixture type proposed in JP-A-5-74090 and JP-A-6-052645, a magnetic head is disposed on a center rail formed on a trailing edge of a positive pressure slider of a flying type, and only the center rail having the magnetic head is brought into contact with a magnetic disk to conduct magnetic recording.
In a negative pressure slider of the flying/contact mixture type proposed in JP-A-62-167610, a trailing edge of a negative pressure slider of a flying type is brought into contact with a magnetic disk to conduct magnetic recording.